Uganda Government Sponsorship Scheme for Top UACE Performers
By Muntasir • Published Sep 18, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • African Scholarships & Student Funding
Uganda's government sponsors around 4,000 students a year at public universities and other tertiary institutions, split between a national merit list ranked purely on UACE performance and a district quota that guarantees each district's top candidates a sponsored place even below the national cutoff.
🎓 About 3,000 places go through the national merit scheme, ranked by UACE results and programme cutoff points.
🏠 About 800 places go through the district quota scheme, one guaranteed slot per district for top local performers.
Makerere University admits the largest share of government-sponsored students of any public university.
📩 Apply online through the Academic Management Information System (ACMIS) after UACE results are released.
💵 Sponsorship covers tuition and functional fees plus a food allowance, and a rent allowance for students living off campus: amounts students widely say fall short of real living costs.
How government sponsorship works
Uganda's government undergraduate sponsorship scheme pays tuition and functional fees for top-performing Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) candidates admitted to public universities and other public tertiary institutions. The Ministry of Education and Sports funds around 4,000 sponsored places a year across the public system, with Makerere University admitting the largest share, according to The Independent Uganda .
Sponsorship splits into two separate windows: the national merit scheme and the district quota scheme. Both use your UACE results, but they rank you differently.
The national merit scheme
The national merit scheme, also called the direct admissions scheme, admits about 3,000 of the strongest UACE performers nationwide. Selection is competitive: your points score and subject combination are ranked against every other applicant countrywide for your chosen programme, and each programme sets its own cutoff point that shifts year to year based on demand and the strength of that year's applicant pool, per Campus Bee .
The district quota scheme
The district quota scheme reserves roughly 800 places, distributing sponsored slots across Uganda's districts so that a strong performer from a district with weaker average results is not shut out by applicants from better-resourced schools. Selection happens at the Ministry level, then the shortlisted students' names are sent to their home district for local verification before admission is confirmed.
How to apply
Sit and pass UACE with a subject combination that meets the minimum entry requirements for your chosen programme.
Wait for the Ministry of Education and Sports and Makerere University's admissions office to open the government sponsorship application window, usually after UACE results are released.
Apply online through the Academic Management Information System (ACMIS), listing your programme choices in order of preference, following guidance published on Makerere University's admissions portal .
Wait for the merit list or district quota list to be published, then complete registration at your admitted institution before the deadline.
What sponsorship covers, and what it doesn't
Government sponsorship pays your tuition and functional fees directly to the university. Sponsored students also receive living allowances: The Independent reports Shs530,000 per semester for food for students in university halls and Shs760,000 per semester for those living off campus (Shs530,000 for meals plus Shs230,000 for rent). Students report these allowances do not stretch to actual living costs, and scholastic materials are not covered, so budget for the gap or seek additional loan or bursary support. Diploma holders can also apply for government sponsorship into degree programmes under a separate window that Makerere and other public universities run annually.
Why the scheme matters
For many Ugandan families, government sponsorship is the only realistic path into a public university degree, since private sponsorship at the same institutions charges full tuition. Competition has intensified as more UACE candidates chase a fixed number of sponsored slots, pushing merit cutoffs higher each cycle. Applying for both the national merit list and, where eligible, the district quota gives you two separate chances at the same pool of public university places.